The Grand Tour star Francis Bourgeois’ real name exposed and reason he changed it
Francis Bourgeois isn’t his real name (Image: Getty)
The Grand Tour star Francis Bourgeois’ real name exposed and reason he changed it
Francis Bourgeois was announced as a replacement host for The Grand Tour, which was previously presented by Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond. The popular trainspotter will star in the new series alongside Thomas Holland and James Engelsman.
Francis isn’t actually his real name – the social media star was born Luke Magnus Nicolson in July 2000, to an NHS worker mum and photographer teacher father. Over the years, Francis has given various reasons for changing his name. Rumours abounded at first that he borrowed the name from a famous 18th-century court painter, Sir Peter Francis Lewis Bourgeois, who was the painter to King George III.
But the star – who has also worked as a model – later revealed he chose Francis because he “likes France and the way they do trains”. His surname was inspired by a sculpture exhibition by Louise Bourgeois that he visited with his dad.
Another reason Francis changed his name was to feel “more protected” while making videos for social media, after being bullied at school for his trainspotting hobby. He told The Guardian: “I was applying for my fourth-year work placement [at university] and the university staff told me potential employers might search my name. I didn’t want to have to worry about that, I’d been to a Hauser & Wirth exhibition in Somerset and saw some work by Louise Bourgeois.”
He added: “I didn’t think it would get to a point where anyone would know me by it. It’s not a character. But I quite like it now – when someone shouts Francis it’s not so overwhelming – I know what to expect.”
